Book Review: KP The Autobiography by Kevin Pietersen

 

KP The Autobiography

by

Kevin Pietersen

 

This book was bought for me as a gift from my friends Hannah, Charley, Grace & Craig so a big thank you to them for this book.

 

I don't normally read autobiography's as such. I have only read 5 or 6 in my life. For me I will only read them if I think the person who has wrote it has a great story to tell. It amazes me how many people have autobiography's out and they have only been doing what they do for about 4 years.

 

In 2014 when this book was published it made front page news in the UK. The controversy and revelations inside shocked not only the cricket world but the sporting world as a whole. Cricket has been part of my life for the past 31 years and having seen Kevin Pietersen play live for England on many occasions it was an easy choice to want to read this book.

 

For those that are not familiar with Kevin Pietersen (KP) he is a professional cricket player that was born and grew up in South Africa. At the age of 19 he had one dream and that was to play Test Cricket. He realised that due to political reasons in South Africa he would probably not be able to do this for the country he lived in. KP's father was South African but his mother was English so he made an emotional journey to England as a shy but eager young man to try and reach his dream else where. KP signed for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in 2000 unaware that within the next 5 years he would be one of the most popular cricket players in the world. At the start of the summer in 2005 very little people had heard of KP. By the end of that summer he was on the front of most papers and the talk of the country along with his fellow England cricketers. Why you ask? Well in the summer of 2005 England played a home Test Series against the old enemy Australia. England had not won a Test series against Australia since 1987...... well that is until KP and his team mates came out to war. It was like a heavyweight boxing match all through the summer England on top then Australia then back to England. The country went cricket mad. People were glued to the TV and radio. People who had never really watched or liked cricket were talking about it. In the end England won the series 2-1 and set off on a week... maybe a month of celebrations. KP and his England team mates were treated like rock stars.

 

Months after this great summer things took a turn for the worse for KP. Not from a cricket point of view but in a kind of in the media for the wrong reasons kind of view. The media has labelled him as arrogant and that the fame had gone to his head. He became cocky and sounded like it was all about him and not the team.

 

Over the next 9 years KP went on to become England's highest ever Test run scorer, He became not only a great test cricketer but one of the most excitable one day players to ever play the game. Unfortunately with every great cricketing story it came with controversy. The media again labelling him as a money grabbing mercenary for wanting to play in the IPL (Indian Premier League) rather than play for England. There were always stories about him falling out with everyone and causing problems on tour with coaches and other players. We had Textgate and the parody Twitter account scandal. But the most shocking out of all the stories was the bullying scandal within the England cricket team.

 

I will be brutally honest about KP. My impression of him has always been "One of the best cricket talents in the world but comes across as a bit of a you know what" KP says at the start of this book that all he wants people to do is read his side of the story and then judge him afterwards.

 

Well Kevin I have read your book and my opinion of you has changed so much. I asked myself why I had this opinion of him, but when you think about it, its the media that tell us that, that is what he is. An arrogant, mercenary trouble maker. Is Keven Pietersen perfect? No but he will admit that. This book is just more proof that there is always two sides to a story.

 

The book itself is very well written. It flowed very well and was as honest as they come. It gave you a really interesting incite into the lives of an international cricket player which really shocked me in places. Along with the serious stuff it was humorous in parts including one of the funniest chapters I've read in ages called Le Grand Fromage. KP does not hold back at all in this book and tells us how it is.

 

This book has not only changed my opinion of KP but also of people like Andrew Flower (Head Coach) Matt Prior, Graham Swann & Stuart Broad (England Players) but most of all the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) This organisation that runs everything cricket in this country is more political than the government and so stuck in their own ways you would think it was 1954. For someone who has been involved in cricket for so long it shocked me how bad they really are. 

 

Have I anything bad to say about the book. It would have nice to read more about the summer of 2005 and more of the success and but that would be about it.

 

I scored this book a 4.5 out of 5. If you love cricket then I fully recommend you read this. Also if you like sport itself I would give it a try. I have not really gone into too much about all the gossipy stuff and scandals on this review because I don't really want to ruin it for people. Reviewing an autobiography has been a bit strange as you can't describe most things without giving too much away. Do any other bloggers have this problem as well?

 

I would love to know what other people think who have read it. Has your opinion changed about KP?

 

Speak soon

 

CBailey31